Six More Elvis DVDs

When do they plan to release Kid Galahad in the U.S. on DVD? I see that it was released outside the U.S.

This is the best news for me. I've always loved and enjoyed the Elvis Presley films. Soon I will have the entire Elvis' Hollywood Movies Collection on DVD. That's really terrific!! I am really looking forward to GIRL HAPPY, KISSIN COUSINS and TICKLE ME.

Although I never collected Elvis' films on VHS, mainly due to their poor quality and not being in their original WideScreen aspect ratio, I started collecting them on DVD. I even own the original version of TTWII. Including this title, not all releases are in excellent quality e.g. "Follow That Dream", the Region 1 version of "Clambake" (get the Region 2 version if you can) and I understand (I never purchased it) the released version of "Charro". The Paramount releases are the best of the lot. "Frankie & Johnny" and the 20th Century Fox films are also very good. I still have to receive the latest batch of Elvis' films so I cannot yet comment on them. Let's hope these 'new' forthcoming releases will be up to standard. That leaves us with only "On Tour" - and let's not forget Elvis' official 34th film, "This Is Elvis" which has yet to see the light of day.

people will you lay of paradise hawaiian style .ok its not a masterpiece - it wasn't meant to be one . but as a fun movie it does the job . its a film were the musical numbers fit in well and the scenery is top notch . does anybody else like this gem .

There's no "extra" material. Some songs had been cut out of broadcasts, etc. because of the same sorts of rights issues that plagued Aloha and '68 for years. It appears they've got all those songwriting compensation issues resolved. So the movies should be back to their original length -- but there are no bonuses.

That´s great. "Tickle Me", "Girl Happy" and "Live A Little, Love A Little" in the same DVD set... Certainly, it will be part of my collection

Actually, the source for this news is closer to Warner than EPE. At the "Collector's Club Conference" on Saturday, August 14th, the news that these 6 titles would be released in January 2005, came from Tom Brown, who is with Turner Classic Movies. He added that the deleted songs from "Girl Happy" and "Kissin' Cousins" will be retored.

Doesn't surprize me bout Tickle Me, seeing the trailer on Worlds Fair DVD ,but Charro,sure hope its the complete version. That just leaves On Tour and Thats The Way It Is.

EJF'I'm glad I wasn't the only one to find the Follow That Dream dvd picture quality slightly below par.And its true the UK Cambake dvd has far better picture quality.One thing i've noticed about several Paramount releases: they've been slightly cropped top and bottom to fit the 16:9 ratio.Kid Galahad and Change of Habit too.The Charro dvd out 2 years ago was terrible.I beleive the original TTWII only had mono sound?

Carl. Though I'm not really a fan of Frank Sinatra, let's remember that he won an Oscar for his performance in "From Here To Eternity", and gave a brilliant performance in "The Man With The Golden Arm". These are the sort of roles Elvis should have been given. But I agree with most here. Elvis films were meant to be fun. Elvis knew he wasn't making cinematic masterpieces. He had the makings of a great actor but the powers-that-be saw easy money to be made, so they weren't going to take the risk of trying to present Elvis as a serious actor. What a lost chance!

Great news. so we will have the whole set. Let's hope for a good print of Charro....

I really enjoyed Carls remark. I am sooo glad Live a little love alittle is finally going to be on Dvd. Its one of my favorites. I do wish they would try to improve the sound on the new dvds the same as they did with the Blue hawaii dvd. I would also like to see a Colorized King Creole.

I just bought Spinout and It happened at the worlds fair on DVD.. I found Spinout much more exciting and enjoyable and the picture and sound much better.

That's great, but if they will release it also in dolby digital 1.0, then I'm NOT interested. The last "new" releases like Troubles with girls, are really bad because of the sound. We live in 2004, remaster it in dolby digital 5.1 like Blue Hawaii. Good work Paramount pictures, show Warner how to do it. Greatings from Herman (the Netherlands).

CD King makes an excellent point about the Elvis movies. All of Elvis' movies were big money makers when they were released and they were very popular with fans. The Elvis movies tend to get a bad rap. But they are like the Abbott and Costello, Marx Brothers, Three Stooges, Bob Hope-Bing Crosby-Dorothy Lamour, Grease, or Beach Blanket Bingo movies. They are no better or no worse. They are even like the James Bond movies. It is a formulaic series. But everyone knows what they will get going into these movies. No one expects a Shakespearean experience from an Abbott and Costello movie. No one expects a Tennessee Williams-type script for The Three Stooges movies. No one expects a CITIZEN KANE when they go to see a James Bond movie. No one expects Orson Welles in a Marx Brothers movie. The whole point of a formula movie series is that fans go in knowing that it will be based on a pattern. When we go see a James Bond movie, we all know what to expect and we even want to see the cliched scenes in every movie we see with Bond. Each of these formula series has a certain schtick and routine. To me, the Elvis movies were like the James Bond movies or the Abbott and Costello or Marx Brothers movies. Their goal was never to win an Oscar or present a Shakespearean type of drama. But it was nevertheless a unique experience and was fun almost all of the time. Of course, there were some very bad Elvis movies like HARUM SCARUM and PARADISE HAWAIIAN-STYLE. But there were also very good ELvis movies like KING CREOLE and JAILHOUSE ROCK. But I think the critics are unfair and hypocritical with regard to the Elvis movies. The critics use the wrong criteria to judge them. As musical comedies, they work almost all the time. They have to be judged as musical comedies. And Elvis has to be judged as an actor based on what other musicians have done. In that regard, Elvis has no peer. No one else in rock and roll really made it as an actor. I can't think of anyone? Then Elvis has to be compared to Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis. I think Elvis can hold his own against Sinatra, Crosby, and Martin. Elvis never attempted an Oscar performance but focused on musical comedy. All in all, I think Elvis can hold his own against these other "actors". Sinatra basically played himself in most of his films and was neither better nor worse than Elvis. So we have to look at the big picture. There was no other rock musician who ever made it in Hollywood. So Elvis is unique and special in this regard. He is the only one with the guts, the daring, and the talent to even try it! When people with upturned noses want to dis Elvis' movies, they should keep this in mind. There was only Elvis. There was no one Elvis. So Elvis is in a field by himself here, all alone. There were some great musical moments in the Elvis films. LIVE A LITTLE LOVE A LITTLE features Elvis performing "A Little Less Conversation"; GIRL HAPPY features "Puppet on a String". JAILHOUSE ROCK features the great choreographed dance sequence that is a great moment in film history. It is great that these Elvis movies are coming out on DVD. TCM has done so much to revive interest in these movies. They are a unique movie experience.

The Elvis movies are actually very close to the Austin Powers movies. In fact, that is what they remind me of. There is that same tongue-in-cheek comedy and formulaic schtick. I think one of the fallacies about Elvis movies is that people seriously think Elvis went in trying to remake CITIZEN KANE or MACBETH! But this is pure balderdash and nonsense. Elvis went in like Mike Myers, always tongue-in-cheek. We all know Elvis had a great sense of humor and we know that Monty Python was one of his favorite comedy groups. So Elvis had this satirical and comedic sense going into many of these movies like SPINOUT, SPEEDWAY, DOUBLE TROUBLE and CLAMBAKE. Also, Elvis had good comedic timing and a dead-pan comedic delivery. To me, Elvis needed someone like Quentin Tarantino (who is a great Elvis fan by the way) to force him to break out of his shell and to get him to work and to act. I am certain tarantino could have gotten an Oscar performance out of Elvis. Tarantino could have gotten Elvis to challenge himself and to act. Unfortunately, none of Elvis' directors or producers did this. But Tarantino, I think, could have done it. He got Travolta and David Carradine to act to their potential and to give the performances of their lives. I think he could have done the same with Elvis. But I think people should look at the Elvis movies as Austin Powers types of movies, movies that don't take themselves too seriously and which poke fun at themselves and others. So the next time you see an Elvis movie, just consider it as a type of musical Austin Powers movie.

The TCM 24-hour Elvis movie marathon was great! It is great that the Elvis movies are getting exposure and are being seen and appreciated by a new generation of fans. The enhanced sound quality and the letterbox format and the lack of commercials allowing them to be shown uncut really helps the viewing experience. I remember when they used to be shown in syndication on small TV sets with poor sound quality, cut up, and shown in black and white and squeezed in to feet the TV screen. This did not help in the appreciation of these Elvis movies. They were meant to be seen in a theater with a wide screen and with large speakers and uncut. TCM and cable allow this with the letterbox format. Seeing these movies the way they were intended shows that they were pretty good movies. And the Elvis movies have become a part of Americana now and actually have had a major impact globally. In BRUCE ALMIGHTY, Jim Carrey does a comedy routine at the end where he sings the title song from CLAMBAKE. In the 1997 GODZILLA movie, one of the characters says he learned the American accent by watching Elvis movies. Saturday Night Live did a great Elvis parody when hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was the guest host in the 1990s. In one comedy skit, they did a hilarious take-off of the Elvis movies, particularly BLUE HAWAII. VIVA LAS VEGAS was parodied in the Flinstones movie as VIVA ROCK VEGAS. BLUE HAWAII also has influenced the new Disney movie LILO & STITCH. So Elvis movies have continued to have an impact. They are not forgotten. Does anyone remember any Pat Boone movies? So Elvis is unique as a musician in this regard. The Elvis movies continue to have an impact. Also, I think there is a critical reappraisal of the movies with a greater appreciation of them. The DVD re-releases only show that Elvis movies are currently enjoying a revival and continue to sell. I would recommend them all highly. LOVING YOU, JAILHOUSE ROCK, KING CREOLE, GI BLUES, BLUE HAWAII, IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR, and VIVA LAS VEGAS are in my view essential viewing. These should be a part of any movie fan's collection.

It is great that Warner is using the original movie poster art for the covers of the DVDs. It would be great if they could find deleted scenes and outtakes to include in deluxe versions of the movies like they did with the 68 Comeback special DVD and the Aloha DVD. Even a director's cut or commentary by the actors would be great. Shelley Fabares was in 3 Elvis movies. It would be great to have her do a commentary for SPINOUT. Kurt Russell would be great for WORLD'S FAIR. But right now, Turner Classic Movies is doing more for the Elvis movies than anything else. By giving them the respect they deserve, TCM is sparking an Elvis movie revival which has been going on for quite some time now. With regard to the technical aspects of the new DVDs, as someone said here, Warner is going with the standard DVD reissue format for them which means poor sound quality and only a slightly improved picture quality. But the important thing to me is that they are even coming out on DVD at all! This is only a first step. It is like the first edition of a book. If the book sells and is a hit, then new editions and new pressings follow. So I think this is an important first step, to get them out in DVD in nice promotional packages. Then if they are a hit and there is demand for them, they can be upgraded. But I think Warner wanted to test the waters first with a standard release for them. That leaves room for a future enhanced release in 5.1, etc. The important thing is that people see them. Remember, it has only been only a short time since TCM began showing these movies on cable. Over the years, they have built up an audience to the point now where they can all be released on DVD. But the Elvis movies were virtually forgotten in the 1980s and dsismissed too. It was only in the 1990s that momentum built up for them. The DVD format is a great medium for the movies. People need to buy these DVDs so that Warner re-releases them in the future in enhanced sound and better picture quality.

Remember too that Bing Crosby won an Oscar for GOING MY WAY. But he was basically playing himself. And Sinatra was also in the original MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. But his Oscar was a walk-on, a conscious and premediated and sytematic plan on his part to get an Oscar. Frank said in effect, I want to win an oscar and I will do anything to get it! And he did. But most of his movies are like Elvis movies, musical comedies, or formula movies like the Tony Rome series. But Bing and Sinatra basically just played themselves like ELvis did with some minor exceptions. I mean, give me a break! Elvis could have played the role in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and won the Oscar too! SInatra was playing off the sympathy too there, of being a "daygo" who is a victim of racism, etc. It was a sure Oscar win! But Elvis could have done that, easy!!! It is just that Elvis never took those Oscar parts. That is why I said that Tarantino could have gotten Elvis to challenge himself and give a unique Oscar type performance. KING CREOLE showed that Elvis could act with Matthau and all the rest of the big boys. So it was just a matter of not choosing the Oscar worthy roles and movies. But in retrospect, the Elvis movies stand out pretty well when compared to Bing's and Frank's. I don't think Elvis was outclassed here. He was a rocker who was never part of that Hollywood scene so he never fit in quite the same. But his movies can stand along side those of Frank and Bing. Also, FROM HERE TO ETERNITY was not a Sinatra movie at all, but was a walk on role where he just went in with the cynical idea to get an Oscar! Elvis could have done that! Elvis needed someone like Tarantino to tell him where he stood. Just like when The Beatles told him in 1965 that he should give up the wimpy movie songs and return to his Sun rock style. John Lennon told him to do more challenging rock songs. Elvis ignored the advice...but later did change in 1968 with the TV special. With movies, ELvis needed someone like that to get him motivated to do an Oscar type movie. He never found anyone like that.

It's fantastic to have all the Elvis-movies on DVD, will be great. Just hope they will use Dolby5.1 and do it properly! What does it mean that the deleted songs from "Girl Happy" and "Kissin' Cousins" will be restored - which are they? IF so this is the first time an Elvis-DVD actually contains real extra material..